When Lucian saw Platina later on in the day, she smiled wistfully at him on the other side of the logging area and hurried on. He stood up impulsively and raised his hand to wave, but her braid was already dancing to and fro as she leapt away.
"These trees ain't gonna get chopped by theirselves," One of the villagers grunted, throwing another falling trunk into the pile situated near the stump Lucian sat on.
"Sorry, I was just thinking for a little bit. I promise to have most of this done by nightfall," The boy apologized, kicking his heel into the new addition, in attempt to roll it onto other trunks. The man, grey, grizzled and weathered by a lifetime of work, squinted his eyes and snarled at him.
"Any more thinkin' and you'll be in the doghouse when it comes time to git yer wages,"
Lucian nodded sullenly as the man moved on, and surveyed the amount of wood that he had to chop before the sky grew dark.
"It's got to get better than this…" He thought and doubled over, struggling to get a grip on a few newly sawn trees. Although they were thin, they were heavy, and the boy of nearly sixteen felt himself swaying as he stepped carefully past the other men buried in their work. Moving past them all, he slowly made his way towards an old, rickety barn used to store the day's fresh wood, and dropped them all next to a large stump.
"By the good grace of Odin…" The boy cursed and wrapped his hands around the axe laying in the grass nearby, "This'll take me all night by the way I'm going,"
Lucian bent down and placed one of the trunks on the stump in front of him, steadying it with his foot. Then he brought down the blade swiftly and cleanly and pounded at the log until it was split into five pieces. Panting, he wiped his gloved hand across his forehead, dirt streaking and settling into his skin as he did so. With every tree pile he chopped up, he bumbled across the field and took more as they were sawn down, observing the sun's position with increasing interest and exhaustion.
"I hope Mama…did her…bedding today…!" He huffed to himself as he swung the axe down again and again, "I can't wait to collapse on some…fresh, clean sheets," The last of the tree was split and the logs were hurled upward by the intensity of his chop, one of them lodging into his shins. Lucian let go of the axe in frustration and sat down in a frenzy, on the stump.
"Damn blade, if only it were sharper, and I wouldn't have to slave away at this so much!" He muttered, tearing his pant leg up and putting pressure on his injury.
"Be thee alright?" A soft voice sang out behind him, and Lucian brightened at the sound of her voice.
"Platina?" He asked, as she made her way around the mess of logs and sat down on the stump beside him, "I thought you were in trouble…"
"Oh I was," She laughed softly, avoiding his gaze, "I had to clean up in the attic cupboards for hours because of it, but it was alright. Mother has forgiven me,"
Lucian's smile faded as he gingerly brought his hand up to her face and brushed aside more wisps of hair loose from her braid. He detected a small red patch just underneath her cheekbone. Platina flushed and pushed his hand away.
"I shouldn't have wandered off like I did," She offered, and Lucian shook his head in defiance, saying nothing. For a few moments, the two sat and observed the sun sinking into the horizon.
"The sky watcher has said that it'll be a beautiful day for tomorrow as well. I think Coriander will benefit greatly from this weather. We'll be so prepared for winter that-"
Lucian cut her off, "I want to talk with you,"
Platina's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean? Are we not talking now?"
He shook his head. "No, I mean a real talk. Away from this village, this work,"
"Well that should prove to be difficult…" her little voiced was laced with confusion, "Tomorrow is the day Mother and I wash all the bedding and the curtains and our clothes and I know that some of the men want to start preparing for their journey past the valley to buy some supplies in the cities,"
"Then we'll wait," He said sternly.
"I don't understand. What do you wish to tell me?"
He looked at her keenly and forced a smile. "I would just like for us to go back to the days when we didn't share into the responsibility of caring for the village,"
Platina's mouth opened in shock, "Lucian, you wish for us to waste our time with games and merriment when we are expected to work…?"
"That's not what I meant," He insisted soothingly, "It's just that…we work around here, so much. So many people depend on us," He turned his face towards Platina's, which was pale in the golden sun. "I miss the days when we…depended on each other,"
Once more, her eyes widened, and then suddenly she was laughing gently, tugging at his sleeve and he found himself laughing with her.
"Oh Lucian, you'll make a freeloader of me yet!" Lucian knew she was making light of the earlier situation and found himself unable to laugh. He felt her fingers slip into the tops of his gloves but she pulled away as soon as she realized that he was no longer having fun.
"I, I really should go now. I came to bring water to the loggers," She burst out, suddenly standing. With a polite nod, she dashed toward the crowd of villagers some yards away.
Lucian hung his head, shutting out the slight burning rippling through his tired shoulders. Standing up and searching for the axe, he promised himself that he would see Platina alone at least once during the next following days.